A Winter's Waltz
by chanchi76
Summary: It has been almost a year since Elsa had become the Queen of Arendelle. She left her grand palace as it was on the North Mountain, knowing only a few would be able to view its splendor or even believe in its existence. Anna and Arendelle have accepted her icy powers, but she still feels isolated. Will she ever find someone that truly understands her?


Prologue

The snow crunched underneath his boots as he slowly ascended the mountain. The higher he went, the stronger the icy winds struck him, hindering his progress to the peak. His breath spilled out of him in clouds of mist, the icy shards striking the back of his throat as he breathed. He slowed his pace as a sharp pain started building in his side, lowering his head as he forced his way up the steep incline. He was too close to call it quits.

From the distance, the mountain looked clear enough on a good day. The white peak looked inviting in front of the sky's blue backdrop. The warm spring sun warmed the land beneath it, yet it only painted a lovely picture from afar. As the sun set, the clouds came in and the wind picked up at the higher elevations. He started his climb a little over an hour ago, but already he was feeling the unrelenting force of Mother Nature.

The lone mountain was deserted, the weather too unpredictable for others to settle so high. There were scattered cabins at the base of the mountain; he assumed he would see more once he started his descent. It was too steep to build here anyway. There was a lack of stable ground so close to the summit. Even though he was sinking with every step, he doubted his feet were touching solid ground.

A deep cough settled into his throat as it became difficult to breathe. He coughed into his arm, feeling the cold air slicing through his body with each breath. His legs were shaking from the hike—it now took twice the amount of energy to pull each foot out of the sunken snow to advance. He fell to his knees, his throat dry and parched. He leaned over, feeling his pulse in every vein in his body. His vision swam, going from sharp to blurry with every blink.

He squinted through the storm, desperate for even the slightest glance of his goal in the distance. To prove he was making some sort of progress on this outlandish journey.

To his surprise, the next gust of snow revealed a shiny glimmer only a few feet ahead of him. He leapt up in awe and scrambled over to the shimmering object, accidently tripping and slamming his forehead into something very solid and cold.

"Stairs?" he asked, dazed from the impact. He raised his head and stared up at the glimmering steps before him. Despite being open to the elements, the staircase itself looked untouched—like a strange power was protecting it from getting damaged. Even though the snow crusted wind shot directly at the rails, for some reason each snowflake bounced off the invisible wall and was redirected up in the air.

With renewed vigor he got up and started across the staircase, trying to avoid looking at the chasm beneath his feet.

"There it is!" he gasped, freezing in his tracks as he looked up at the icy fortress. He only heard rumors of this mysterious castle high up in the mountains. These were the rumors he acted on, so eager to see such a creation with his own eyes.

Carved completely with ice and untouched by the snowstorms—just as all the travelers' said.

He wasted no time in racing forward to the tall frozen gates, icy blue in appearance. He raised his hands tentatively and placed his palms against the gates, feeling the cold seeping in through his gloves.

To his surprise, the gates opened the instant he touched them and he drew back waiting for the feared onslaught from such a well-crafted fortress.

But after a minute of cowering on the side, he finally took his first step inside the crystal ice palace.

The doors slowly creaked shut behind him as he took in the decorations with awe. Stunned by such a display, he spun around, throwing his hands in the air as he laughed.

"T-this is amazing!"

His shout echoed around the empty hall, his laughter the first life in a long time. As if it were responding, the interior suddenly changed its hue, the walls becoming a vibrant red.

"Wow!"

He ripped off his glove, holding his hand up to watch as his hand glowed with the walls. This only held his attention for a second, before he was running around the entrance hall, observing the sharp icicles protruding from the floor. There were shards of ice lying around in the center, crunching underneath his boots as he went back and forth.

"I wonder who used to live here," he mused, noting the still silence. "Why would they leave such a beautiful place?" The red environment went through another color change, this time slowly shifting to orange before settling on a dark yellow. He stood at the base of the staircase, staring up at the second floor.

"Hello?" he called. He waited until the echo faded in the distance. He waited for an audible noise, anything alerting him to another presence. But he could hear nothing but the silence all around him.

He took a hesitant step forward. His footfall echoed loudly around the hall. But still no one came to investigate. He took another hesitant step, giving the area a sweeping glance. A third step caused the environment to warm to a light orange.

Another step later and he caught a glimpse of his reflection on the wall. Stopping, he examined himself in the makeshift mirror. He could hardly recognize himself through all of the heavy winter clothes he wrapped himself into for the journey. He yanked off his hood, vigorously running his fingers through his black hair so it stuck up naturally. He admired the way the orange light made his eyes darker than they really were, giving him a much more mature appearance than he was usually accustomed to. It made him look like his brother—or at least when his brother had on a rare smile. He gave a few scowls, trying to imitate his deadpan look, but to no avail. He gave up after a while—frowning made him uncomfortable, even if there was no one else to see.

Exuberated by the idea of exploring the castle alone, he raced up the staircase, watching in glee as the ice seemed to pulse different shades of red all around him. Reaching the next floor, he darted over and threw open the first doors he encountered.

"Wow," he sighed as he stepped out into the brisk air. He could still see the wind stirring up the storm at the entrance, but on the balcony he could see the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. He propped his head up with his elbow as he gazed at the sunrise. The sun's rays slowly slid down the mountainside, forcing back the shadows to the west.

He watched as the sunlight reflected off of a flagpole far beyond him. As the minutes passed, he could see the castle appearing in front of his eyes. With such a prosperous kingdom beneath him, he just knew someone would know who had built this marvel.

"I'll go there…today…" he promised, slowly sinking to his knees as he rested his head in his arms. "Or maybe tomorrow…what's the rush anyway?"


End file.
